Bag dispensers are used to dispense individual bags from a roll. For example, bag dispensers are commonly used to dispense individual bags from a roll of bags in a produce department of a grocery store. Conventional dispensers include a support that mounts the roll on a base while allowing the roll to rotate about an axis to unroll bags from the roll. In addition, typical dispensers include a bag separator that tears individual bags from the roll along preformed zones of weakness to separate the bags as they are unrolled from the roll. As bags are removed from the roll, it loses weight, making it more likely to freewheel in use. This may result in too many bags being pulled off the roll at one time. In addition, freewheeling can cause the roll of bags to become misaligned with the separator, and bags coming off the roll are more difficult to tear from the roll if they are not aligned with the bag separator. Still further, freewheeling can permit the roll to “jump” on the dispenser, causing the roll to over-rotate and permitting the leading bag to position itself under the roll or behind the roll with respect to the bag separator where it is difficult to grasp.